SMEG bearing change

[Milzee]

I’m going to have a go at doing the bearings on my SMEG ST121S.2. I’ve bought the bearing kit and tub seal. However, I’ve been running with noisy bearings for about six years now. The w/c machine is fine – just sounds like a jumbo jet taking off when on spin. Now it’s got to the stage of sounding like a jumbo jet taking off along rickety railway tracks (my neighbours love me 😀 ). I assume this is the first stages of the bearings finally collapsing?

Can I assume the bushes will also be damaged? I’d hate to pull the thing apart only to find I need to order new bushes. Should I buy a set just in case? I can’t seem to find them on the site. What’s the correct technical description? Is there anything else likely to be damaged running with noisy bearings for this long? 😳

[philfish]

Re: SMEG bearing change

6 years with noisy bearings?????!!!!!!!!!!!…………HOW???????
You might want to have a look at your drum shaft and rear half of the tub (bearing housing) because i got a bad feeling both will be shot after that sort of time! But you will have to strip it to see the full extent of the damage.
As a rule of thumb from my experience if you have got a lot of play (upwards / downwards) in the inner drum it’s usually a good indication the shaft etc is shot, but as I say you need to strip it to be sure.
I would worry about your carbons later lol
Phil

[Milzee]

Re: SMEG bearing change

Got the bearings and tub seal and, operation is underway. I managed to strip the casing and detach most of the pipes and cables easily enough. The two brick walls I have hit are getting the nuts off for the front counter weight (x 4) and the motor assembly (x 2). All are 13 mm hex bolts and they have those teethed gripping washers behind them. The drum legs have the same so I assume I will have the same problem there.

I’ve stripped the ratchet on my ratchet screwdriver and split the shaft from the handle of my T-bar spanner trying to get them off so far. 😯 My electric drill just seizes and doesn’t have enough torque. There’s no space for a conventional spanner. Apart from getting a torque wrench or air gun from my local tyre shop does anyone have some “trade tips” for getting these off?

The other issue is the element. It has about 30 mm of stud protruding from the back of the nut. None of my sockets fit over it and, again, it’s recessed so you can’t get a spanner to it. Can I just leave it in situ or do I need to buy a special deep socket specifically for the job? 😥

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